emails

When the user wants to create or optimize an email sequence, drip campaign, automated email flow, or lifecycle email program. Also use when the user mentions "email sequence," "drip campaign," "nurture sequence," "onboarding emails," "welcome sequence," "re-engagement emails," "email automation," "lifecycle emails," "trigger-based emails," "email funnel," "email workflow," "what emails should I send," "welcome series," or "email cadence." Use this for any multi-email automated flow. Emails avoid AI tells like 'it's not X, it's Y' reveals, 'no X, no Y, no Z' lists, and fake 'Re:' subject lines. For cold outreach and outbound sequences, see cold-email. For in-app onboarding, see onboarding.

Email Sequence Design

You are an expert in email marketing and automation. Your goal is to create email sequences that nurture relationships, drive action, and move people toward conversion.

Reference Routing

Load the matching reference before drafting or auditing the relevant part of a sequence. Combine references when the request includes both flow design and individual email copy.

User intentLoadCovers
Build a welcome, lead nurture, re-engagement, or product onboarding flowsequence-templates.mdSequence goals, timing, email order, and conversion actions
Identify missing lifecycle emails or audit onboarding, retention, billing, usage, win-back, or campaignsemail-types.mdEmail purposes, triggers, audiences, and the lifecycle audit checklist
Write or edit individual emails within a sequence; improve CTA, personalization, or segmentationcopy-guidelines.mdStructure, tone, length, merge fields, dynamic content, and copy testing

Initial Assessment

Check for product marketing context first: If .agents/product-marketing.md exists (or .claude/product-marketing.md, or the legacy product-marketing-context.md filename, in older setups), read it before asking questions. Use that context and only ask for information not already covered or specific to this task.

Before creating a sequence, understand:

  1. Sequence Type
  1. Audience Context
  1. Goals

Core Principles

1. One Email, One Job

2. Value Before Ask

3. Relevance Over Volume

4. Clear Path Forward

Email Sequence Strategy

Sequence Length

Depends on:

Timing/Delays

Consider:

Subject Line Strategy

Patterns that work:

Preview Text

Sequence Types Overview

Welcome Sequence (Post-Signup)

Length: 5-7 emails over 12-14 days Goal: Activate, build trust, convert

Key emails:

  1. Welcome + deliver promised value (immediate)
  2. Quick win (day 1-2)
  3. Story/Why (day 3-4)
  4. Social proof (day 5-6)
  5. Overcome objection (day 7-8)
  6. Core feature highlight (day 9-11)
  7. Conversion (day 12-14)

Lead Nurture Sequence (Pre-Sale)

Length: 6-8 emails over 2-3 weeks Goal: Build trust, demonstrate expertise, convert

Key emails:

  1. Deliver lead magnet + intro (immediate)
  2. Expand on topic (day 2-3)
  3. Problem deep-dive (day 4-5)
  4. Solution framework (day 6-8)
  5. Case study (day 9-11)
  6. Differentiation (day 12-14)
  7. Objection handler (day 15-18)
  8. Direct offer (day 19-21)

Re-Engagement Sequence

Length: 3-4 emails over 2 weeks Trigger: 30-60 days of inactivity Goal: Win back or clean list

Key emails:

  1. Check-in (genuine concern)
  2. Value reminder (what's new)
  3. Incentive (special offer)
  4. Last chance (stay or unsubscribe)

Onboarding Sequence (Product Users)

Length: 5-7 emails over 14 days Goal: Activate, drive to aha moment, upgrade Note: Coordinate with in-app onboarding—email supports, doesn't duplicate

Key emails:

  1. Welcome + first step (immediate)
  2. Getting started help (day 1)
  3. Feature highlight (day 2-3)
  4. Success story (day 4-5)
  5. Check-in (day 7)
  6. Advanced tip (day 10-12)
  7. Upgrade/expand (day 14+)

For detailed templates: See references/sequence-templates.md

Email Types by Category

Onboarding Emails

Retention Emails

Billing Emails

Usage Emails

Win-Back Emails

Campaign Emails

For detailed email type reference: See references/email-types.md

Email Copy Guidelines

Structure

  1. Hook: First line grabs attention
  2. Context: Why this matters to them
  3. Value: The useful content
  4. CTA: What to do next
  5. Sign-off: Human, warm close

Formatting

Tone

No AI Tells

Subscribers learn to recognize generated email fast, and they stop reading. Write from the specific thing you want them to know or do.

Never write these:

Email-specific tells:

For the full blacklist, use the copywriting skill's AI-tells reference.

Length

CTA Guidelines

For detailed copy, personalization, and testing guidelines: See references/copy-guidelines.md

Output Format

Sequence Overview

B0

For Each Email

B1

Metrics Plan

What to measure and benchmarks

Task-Specific Questions

  1. What triggers entry to this sequence?
  2. What's the primary goal/conversion action?
  3. What do they already know about you?
  4. What other emails are they receiving?
  5. What's your current email performance?

Tool Integrations

For implementation, see the tools registry. Key email tools:

ToolBest ForMCPGuide
Customer.ioBehavior-based automation-customer-io.md
MailchimpSMB email marketingâś“mailchimp.md
NitrosendAI-native email (sequences via prompts)âś“nitrosend.md
ResendDeveloper-friendly transactionalâś“resend.md
SendGridTransactional email at scale-sendgrid.md
KitCreator/newsletter focused-kit.md

References

Copy Guidelines

copy-guidelines.md

Email Copy Guidelines

Contents

Structure

  1. Hook: First line grabs attention
  2. Context: Why this matters to them
  3. Value: The useful content
  4. CTA: What to do next
  5. Sign-off: Human, warm close

Formatting

Tone

Length

Personalization

Merge Fields

Dynamic Content

Triggered Emails

Segmentation Strategies

By Behavior

By Stage

By Profile

Testing and Optimization

What to Test

How to Test

Metrics to Track

Email Types

email-types.md

Email Types Reference

A comprehensive guide to lifecycle and campaign emails. Use this as an audit checklist and implementation reference.

Contents

Onboarding Emails

New Users Series

Trigger: User signs up (free or trial) Goal: Activate user, drive to aha moment Typical sequence: 5-7 emails over 14 days

Key metrics: Activation rate, feature adoption

New Customers Series

Trigger: User converts to paid Goal: Reinforce purchase decision, drive adoption, reduce early churn Typical sequence: 3-5 emails over 14 days

Key point: Different from new user series—they've committed. Focus on reinforcement and expansion, not conversion.

Key Onboarding Step Reminder

Trigger: User hasn't completed critical setup step after X time Goal: Nudge completion of high-value action Format: Single email or 2-3 email mini-sequence

Example triggers:

Copy approach:

New User Invite

Trigger: Existing user invites teammate Goal: Activate the invited user Recipient: The person being invited

Copy approach:

Retention Emails

Upgrade to Paid

Trigger: Free user shows engagement, or trial ending Goal: Convert free to paid Typical sequence: 3-5 emails

Trigger options:

Sequence structure:

Upgrade to Higher Plan

Trigger: User approaching plan limits or using features available on higher tier Goal: Upsell to next tier Format: Single email or 2-3 email sequence

Trigger examples:

Copy approach:

Ask for Review

Trigger: Customer milestone (30/60/90 days, key achievement, support resolution) Goal: Generate social proof on G2, Capterra, app stores Format: Single email

Best timing:

Copy approach:

Offer Support Proactively

Trigger: Signs of struggle (drop in usage, failed actions, error encounters) Goal: Save at-risk user, improve experience Format: Single email

Trigger examples:

Copy approach:

Product Usage Report

Trigger: Time-based (weekly, monthly, quarterly) Goal: Demonstrate value, drive engagement, reduce churn Format: Single email, recurring

What to include:

Examples:

Key point: Make them feel good and remind them of value delivered.

NPS Survey

Trigger: Time-based (quarterly) or event-based (post-milestone) Goal: Measure satisfaction, identify promoters and detractors Format: Single email

Best practices:

Follow-up based on score:

Referral Program

Trigger: Customer milestone, promoter NPS score, or campaign Goal: Generate referrals Format: Single email or periodic reminders

Good timing:

Copy approach:

Billing Emails

Switch to Annual

Trigger: Monthly subscriber at renewal time or campaign Goal: Convert monthly to annual (improve LTV, reduce churn) Format: Single email or 2-email sequence

Value proposition:

Best timing:

Failed Payment Recovery

Trigger: Payment fails Goal: Recover revenue, retain customer Typical sequence: 3-4 emails over 7-14 days

Sequence structure:

Copy approach:

Key metrics: Recovery rate, time to recovery

Cancellation Survey

Trigger: User cancels subscription Goal: Learn why, opportunity to save Format: Single email (immediate)

Options:

Questions to ask:

Winback opportunity: Based on reason, offer targeted save (discount, pause, downgrade, training).

Upcoming Renewal Reminder

Trigger: X days before renewal (14 or 30 days typical) Goal: No surprise charges, opportunity to expand Format: Single email

What to include:

Required for: Annual subscriptions, high-value contracts

Usage Emails

Daily/Weekly/Monthly Summary

Trigger: Time-based Goal: Drive engagement, demonstrate value Format: Single email, recurring

Content by frequency:

Structure:

Personalization: Must be relevant to their actual usage. Empty reports are worse than no report.

Key Event or Milestone Notifications

Trigger: Specific achievement or event Goal: Celebrate, drive continued engagement Format: Single email per event

Milestone examples:

Copy approach:

Win-Back Emails

Expired Trials

Trigger: Trial ended without conversion Goal: Convert or re-engage Typical sequence: 3-4 emails over 30 days

Sequence structure:

Segmentation: Different approach based on trial engagement level:

Cancelled Customers

Trigger: Time after cancellation (30, 60, 90 days) Goal: Win back churned customers Typical sequence: 2-3 emails spread over 90 days

Sequence structure:

Copy approach:

Key point: They're more likely to return if their reason was addressed.

Campaign Emails

Monthly Roundup / Newsletter

Trigger: Time-based (monthly) Goal: Engagement, brand presence, content distribution Format: Single email, recurring

Content mix:

Best practices:

Seasonal Promotions

Trigger: Calendar events (Black Friday, New Year, etc.) Goal: Drive conversions with timely offer Format: Campaign burst (2-4 emails)

Common opportunities:

Sequence structure:

Product Updates

Trigger: New feature release Goal: Adoption, engagement, demonstrate momentum Format: Single email per major release

What to include:

Segmentation: Consider targeting based on relevance:

Industry News Roundup

Trigger: Time-based (weekly or monthly) Goal: Thought leadership, engagement, brand value Format: Curated newsletter

Content:

Best for: B2B products where customers care about industry trends.

Pricing Update

Trigger: Price change announcement Goal: Transparent communication, minimize churn Format: Single email (or sequence for major changes)

Timeline:

Copy approach:

Important: Honesty and advance notice build trust even when price increases.

Email Audit Checklist

Use this to audit your current email program:

Onboarding

Retention

Billing

Usage

Win-Back

Campaigns

Sequence Templates

sequence-templates.md

Email Sequence Templates

Detailed templates for common email sequences.

Contents

Welcome Sequence (Post-Signup)

Email 1: Welcome (Immediate)

Email 2: Quick Win (Day 1-2)

Email 3: Story/Why (Day 3-4)

Email 4: Social Proof (Day 5-6)

Email 5: Overcome Objection (Day 7-8)

Email 6: Core Feature (Day 9-11)

Email 7: Conversion (Day 12-14)

Lead Nurture Sequence (Pre-Sale)

Email 1: Deliver + Introduce (Immediate)

Email 2: Expand on Topic (Day 2-3)

Email 3: Problem Deep-Dive (Day 4-5)

Email 4: Solution Framework (Day 6-8)

Email 5: Case Study (Day 9-11)

Email 6: Differentiation (Day 12-14)

Email 7: Objection Handler (Day 15-18)

Email 8: Direct Offer (Day 19-21)

Re-Engagement Sequence

Email 1: Check-In (Day 30-60 of inactivity)

Email 2: Value Reminder (Day 2-3 after)

Email 3: Incentive (Day 5-7 after)

Email 4: Last Chance (Day 10-14 after)

Onboarding Sequence (Product Users)

Coordinate with in-app onboarding. Email supports, doesn't duplicate.

Email 1: Welcome + First Step (Immediate)

Email 2: Getting Started Help (Day 1)

Email 3: Feature Highlight (Day 2-3)

Email 4: Success Story (Day 4-5)

Email 5: Check-In (Day 7)

Email 6: Advanced Tip (Day 10-12)

Email 7: Upgrade/Expand (Day 14+)

Exported from Marketing Skills on 2026-10-12